The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Azalea, botanically known as Rhododendron hybrida, an evergreen greenhouse-forcing type, and hereinafter referred to by the name `Parasol`.
The new Azalea is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the inventor in Alva, Fla. The objective of the breeding program is to create new Azalea varieties having uniform plant habit and uniform flowering, numerous flowers, good foliage retention during the cooling and forcing periods, and excellent postproduction longevity.
The new Azalea originated from a cross made by the inventor in Alva, Fla., of the commercial cultivar Rhododendron hybrida `Fascination` (not patented) as the female, or seed, parent with the commercial cultivar Rhododendron hybrida `Prize` (disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 3,795) as the male, or pollen, parent.
Compared to plants of the red-edged female parent, `Fascination`, plants of the new Azalea have a more uniform plant habit and less pink in the center of the flower.
In addition to flower color and form, plants of the new Azalea have larger flowers and flower slower and not as uniformly as plants of the dark rose double hose-in-hose-flowered `Prize`.
Compared to plants of the new Azalea's sibling cultivar, `Tapestry`, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. application Ser. No. 09/082,053, flowers of plants of the new Azalea are light pink to white and hot pink bi-colored whereas flowers of plants of the cultivar `Tapestry` are light pink to white and red bi-colored. In addition, plants of the new Azalea are more floriferous, but have smaller flowers than plants of the cultivar `Tapestry`.
The new Azalea was discovered and selected by the inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Alva, Fla., on May 24, 1994. The selection of this plant was based on its desirable flower color, profuse and uniform flowering, uniform plant habit, excellent foliage retention, resistance to Cylindrocladium and good postproduction longevity.
Asexual reproduction of the new Azalea by terminal cuttings taken in a controlled environment in Alv, Fla., has shown that the unique features of this new Azalea are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The new Azalea has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength, light intensity, nutrition and water status without, however, any variance in genotype.